Street-indicatob



D. A. DOWNEY.

STREET INDICATOR. AP PLICATION FILED MAR. 29, 19.18. 1,81 1,056. Patented Ju 2,1919.

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D. A. DOWNEY.

STREET INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 29, 1910.

Patented July 22, 1919.

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vwemtoz DENNIS A. DOWNEY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

STREET-INDICATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented July 22, 1919.

Application filed March 29, 1918. Serial No. 225,540.

To all whom it may concern:

Be 1t known that I, Dnxms A. DOWNEY,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have inventednew and useful Improvements in Street-Indicators, of which the following is a specification,

This invention is an improved street in dicator, for use in cars or other similar public conveyances to indicate the name of each street or station at which the car will next stop.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved machine of this character which is simple in construction, is strong and durable, and which can be readily operated by the conductor from any part of the car.

lVith the above and other objectsin view the invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of devices hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a vertical section partly in elevation of a street or station indicator constructed and arranged in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the same, partly in section.

Fig. 4: is a sectional view of a modified fornr of my invention.

The casing 1 may be of the form here shown or of any other suitable form and. may be made of any su1tab1e material and s adapted to be secured in the center of the car. The opposite sides of the casing which are exposed to view are each provided with an opening 2 through which the names of the streets or stations on the road appear successively as the conductor operates the indicator after passing each street in order to insert the name of the next street, station, or other stopping place.

A pair of rollers 3, A which are arranged respectively in the upper and lower ends of the casing have their axle shafts 5, 6 respectively mounted in bearings in the end walls of the casing.

A pair of aprons 7 which are made of flexible, translucent or transparent material are inscribed with the names of the streets or stations in regular order and are stretched between the rollers 3, 1 and their ends are attached to said rollers so that by step-by-step rotation of the rollers the aprons are wound up by one of the rollers and unwound from one of the others, as will be understood. The portions of the aprons between the rollers are stretched apart and held near the opposite sides of the casing and acrossthe openings 2 by direction rollers 111, as shown in Fig. 2. An electric lamp or other light, indicated at 112, is arranged in the casing, between the openings 2, to illuminate the aprons and make the inscriptions thereon readily legible at night.

Cylindrical casings 8 are arranged around the rollers and have slots 9 through which the aprons extend. A sprocket wheel 11 is secured to one end of each roller shaft and an endless sprocket chain 12 is provided which engages the said sprocket wheel and in connection therewith causes the rollers to rotate in unison.

A ratchet 15 is secured to one end of the roller shaft 5, for rotation therewith and is provided on opposite sides with a pair of teeth 16. A spur gear 17 is loosely mounted on the same end of said shaft 5 and is provided with a pair of dogs 18 which are pivotally mounted thereon as at 19 and which are adapted to engage the ratchet teeth 16. Each dog is provided at its center or pivotalend with a pair of angularly related cam faces 20 as shown. A spring 21 is also secured as at 22 to the gear 17 and its end bears 011 the inner end of one dog. Owing to the provision of the cam faces 20 of the dogs each of the dogs may be held either in position to engage the ratchet teeth 16 or in position to clear the teeth. A rod 23 which connects the dogs is piv'otally connected to the dogs as at 2a and here shown as provided with a finger piece 25. The length of the rod 24. is such that the same holds the dogs at an angle to each other so that when one dog is in position to engage the ratchet teeth 16 the other dog will be moved outwardly and held in toothclearing position.

A segment gear 35 is also provided which is pivotally mounted on one end of the casing 1 as at 26 and engages the gear 17. At the end of the segment gear are stops 27 which are arranged to engage the gear 17 and to limit the turning movement of the segment gear in either direction, as will be understood. A spring 28 is connected to one side of the segment gear and is also connected to the caslng 1 and serves to turn the segment gear in one direction and to normally hold the same in position with oneof the stops 27 hearing against the gear 17. To turn the segment gear in the reverse direction, against the tension of the spring 28, I provide an operating cord 29. The said cord is attached to the segment gear as at 30 at a point opposite the springs 28 and passes over suitable guide pulleys 30", and in practice preferably extends under the car roof and throughout the length of the car so that said operating cord may be grasped by the conductor in any part of the car and pulled in order to impart a partial rotation to the segment gear and cause'the latter in coaction with the gear 17 to partially turn the roller 3 a suflicient distance to move the apron as far as is required to display the name of the next stop or station through the opening 7. By appropriately adjusting the dogs, which may be readily done by the rod 23, the roller 3, and hence both the rollers, may be turned in either direction required, and hence the direction of movement of the apron may be reversed when the car reaches the end of the line.

In Fig. 4 of my inventionI show a modified form of my invention in which the rollers 3, 4 are arranged vertically and the apron 8? is arranged horizontally. The shaft of the roller 3 isprovi'ded at one end with a pulley 31. An endless belt 32 connects the pulley 31 with a pulley 33 which is mounted for rotation at a suitable point, as at 3%. The pulley 33 is provided with a crankhandle 84: whereby it may be manually turned by the conductor'and hence the rollers may be turned in either direction, to correspondingly move the apron, according to the direction in which the car is travel- In both embodiments of'my invention the rollers are made large in diameter so that the diameters of the rollers will not vary to an appreciable extent as the web winds from one -to the other. Because of this and such resiliency as is present in the aprons 7 compensation is made for the varying diameters of the rollers.

While I have herein shown and described the preferred form of my invention I would have it understood that changes may be made in the form, proportion and construction of the several parts without departing from the spirit of my invention and within the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

In a machine of the class described, a pair of rollers mounted for rotation and each provided with a sprocket wheel, an endless sprocket chain engaging the said sprocket wheels and connecting said rollers together for siniultaneous rotation in either direction, an apron connected to said rollers and partly wound on each of them, diametrically-opposite ratchet teeth fixed on the shaft of one of the rollers, a spur gear also on said shaft, mounted for rotation independently of said rollers and-provided with dogs having angularly-related cam faces, a spring secured to thespur gear and bearing against said dogs, a rod connecting the dogs and having a finger piece, a segmeiit gear engaged with said spurgear and mounted for partial ro t'ation in either direction, said segment gear being provided with stops to engage the spur gear and limit'the movement of the segment gear, a spring to turn the segment gear in one direction, and an operating cord to enable the segment gear to be turned in the reverse direction.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

DENNIS A. DOIVNEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained forfive cents eah b'y addressing the Commissioner of ratents, Washington, I). 0. 

